Mitch Hurwitz on the Future of ‘Arrested Development’

Despite show creator Mitch Hurwitz’ warnings, many Arrested Development fans binge-watched their way through all 15 episodes of the long-awaited season 4, only to be left wondering if they had just seen the last of the Bluth family. Fortunately, Hurwitz has some answers to questions regarding the show’s future, though they’re not particularly conclusive.

In a new interview, Hurwitz discussed how this season’s open-ended nature allows for more Arrested, how the show is like The Golden Girls, how television syndication isn’t out of the realm of possibility for this latest season, and quantifying success with Netflix.

On whether or not he’s talked to Netflix about season 5 and beyond – courtesy of KCRW’s The Business – Hurwitz said:

“No, not yet, but there’s no doubt that the show ends with a lot of things that could continue to be explored, and that is a function of the fact that it was always designed to be the first act of this movie three act structure – or trilogy, when I was trying to make it as a movie trilogy. Without question, I love these characters and I love these people and it would be just a privilege to do more of them or to make a movie, but we’re not there yet. We’ve been done for an hour. Look how tired I look.”

Prior to discussing the show’s future, Hurwitz was asked about the fourth season’s continued use of typical sitcom structure (i.e., act breaks). Hurwitz said:

“I would say that you don’t really throw out all the rules when you try something new. I’ve always thought that the big secret of ‘Arrested Development’ is that it’s structured the same way [that] ‘The Golden Girls’ was.”

A former producer on Golden Girls (and also Golden Palace), Hurwitz later added that Arrested continued bleeping curse words because “it just was funnier.”

As for how Netflix delivers numbers on the show’s performance, Hurwitz had a somewhat surprising answer:

“They don’t. Reed Hastings says I’d like to do more and Ted [Sarandos] says to me, ‘Wow, this is going great.’ […] That’s an interesting thing that’s left to be seen in this model – for agents particularly, and managers – how do you charge for the services of their clients when you don’t know how popular a show is?”

It’s a very interesting question that Hurwitz raises and one that could have an impact on the future of the show. Like season 4, any future episodes of Arrested will likely hinge on the availability of the cast, and while they all undoubtedly have love for both Hurwitz and the show, they will surely look to capitalize now that the show doesn’t seem as much of a gamble for Netflix. Will Netflix (or a movie studio?) pay, or will we all be forced to do a sad Charlie Brown walk?